how did i not know that? good morning. getting better? good news on the job front. it looks like businesses are finally hiring again. but wait until you go get gas. prices are soaring at the pump. rantranldy on the court. a star high school basketball player dies moments after sinking the game winning shot bringing renewed concerns to the hidden health dangers athletes face. natalie portman finds a critic in her unexpected corner. mike huckabee is drawing some fire for a remark he made about the star. >> it's unfortunate that we glorify and glam rise the idea

of out of children wedlock. sgr so what's he saying today, of out of children wedlock. sgr so what's he saying today, saturday, march 5th, 2011. captions paid for by nbc-universal television good saturday morning. welcome to "today." i'm lester holt. >> i'm savannah guthrie. amy is enjoying time off. >> great on have you here. and i shared with you in the opening make us proud. >> which is nicer than what you were going to say. >> always fun to have you here. coming up, the unemployment rate has fallen. those are words we haven't heard in a long time. businesses are starting to hire and consumer confidence is on the rise. this good news comes as gas prices soar this week amid the ongoing crisis in the middle east and that's putting a lot of pressure on america's

pocketbooks. what could it mean? we'll break it down. and a daring rescue as a firefighter came to the rescue of two painters whose scaffolding snapped high above the ground leaving them dangling on the side of a building. the amazing rescue story coming up. >> we were showing that live on local television. it was amazing to watch them pull it off. they practice this kind of stuff but it's still a maze to go watch. and then the difference between store brands and generic. how do they stack up when it comes to taste some we'll show you what happened when one mom pulled a fast one on her husband and five children. did they miss their favorite brands. i'm told i can get to try some. >> and charlie sheen is everywhere these days. coming up, the troubled star provided "dateline" nbc with his never before seen version of his reality. we'll get an exclusive new look inside sheen's life at home. >> the ultimate reality show. >> so we'll get new behind the scenes.

but first let's get more on the economy and as we mentioned, there is good news finally on the jobs front and the white house is putting a check mark in the win column. >> reporter: the president in florida on friday with former governor jeb bush to pitch education reform and anxious to highlight a good report card for the economy. >> this morning we learned that the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in nearly two years. and that's progress. but we need to keep building on that momentum. >> reporter: employers added 192 hour ,000 jobs in february. hiring was up almost across the board. which is and professional services, education and health, manufacturing and construction. but a continued dark spot, state budgets. struggling to get out of the red, state and local governments slashed 30,000 jobs last month, continuing a job cutting streak more than a year old. while the economy is picking up

steam, the hole is deep. more than 8 million jobs were lost in the recession. 13.7 million people remain unemployed. 6 million have been jobless six months or longer. and the jobs report showed average hourly earnings have barely bunched eed oig up yard. i reserve my judgment to see some of the good numbers confirmed. because what we do know is once the job market turns decidedly, it will keep going for a while. >> economists say the unemployment rate may actually rise again as discouraged workers start looking for work again. and now here is lester. while there is good news on the job front, will is bad news at the gas pump. gas prices continue to climb and set new records this week jumping 17 cents in new jersey on friday. and this is happening across the country. miguel almaguer reports. >> reporter: here you pay a premium for premium. $4.99 in west covinale california, a los angeles suburb

pumping out some of the highest gas prices in the nation. >> it's frustrating. >> reporter: in this bedroom community, we found the price of gas affects an entire city's economy. >> you're getting toward go on delivery pretty soon. >> reporter: 79-year-old, a second generation florist, worries his business will wither away about if prices continue to soar. his livelihood and that of his eight employees is on the line. >> this is one that's going by 9:00. >> reporter: when gas prices shot up, so did delivery costs. $50 now to fill up his small van. >> how much more that we can stand? i can't answer. >> reporter: it's $100 for realtor barbara aikens to fill up her suv. >> i stay with will this car because it's paid for. >> reporter: aikens says west covina's housing market is directly affected by gas prices. >> people weren't be able to poord the houses. >> reporter: sticker shock at the pump has a lot of people

wishing will they drove a different type of car these days. julia has a 52 mile commute from west covina to work. this week, she bought a prius. >> if i had a four hour shift it wasn't worth my commute to go out to work because i would pay more in gas than i was going to be making that day. >> reporter: students nearby at a commuter school are barely scraping by. isabella makes $8 an hour, but she pays $4 a gallon to get to class. >> i'm trying to figure out how i'm going to get home today. >> reporter: one silver line, the pinch at the pump has pushed many on to the rails. mass transit use is up 10%. and experts predict what's happening in this community may be coming to a city and a pump near you. for "today," miguel almaguer, nbc news, west covina, california. >> joining us with more is steve liesman, cnbc's senior economics reporter. great to see you. >> good to be here.

p. >> we can't buy a break here. one moment we're saying more people are going back to work, but a lot of that paycheck is going to gas. >> it's just the thing we've been waiting for. i've had the pleasure and sometimes displeasure of sitting if this seat and telling you about the lousy jobs numbers month after month. we finally got the number we've been waiting for, we got to get theducing the workforce and now, yeah, overall the commodity price rise poses a really serious challenge. >> but this is not seasonal because traditional arch of around memorial day, we see the gas prices go up for the summer. when you start projecting this out, could this now be another ding to an economy starting to find its footing? >> it definitely could be and the biggest question becomes how much will this is all related to the middle east. traders think maybe about $10 a barrel built in from the unrest in the middle east. if that can calm down, then

finally we can have the jobs without the threat of higher oil prices. >> and going back to the jobs numbers, very encouraging, putting aside for a moment the glass prices, is there expect tapgss we'll continue to see jobs pick up? >> yeah, once these things turn, they tend to have a momentum and it really becomes -- employers can be sitting on the pens. should i hire this person, should i not. when they see the idea that all these workers are not sitting out there forever, then they have motivation to go and hire these workers. there is some economic optimism out there. there is some sense that maybe things have finally turned. there is a long way it to go. it's a bit like we're going cross-country. we've just come over the gw bridge. >> 13 million people still unemployed looking for work. what areas seem to be strong? >> one of the best pieces of news from this report which was in savannah's report earlier was in manufacturing. we had the best two months gains of manufacturing jobs since 1997. those are generally good paying

jobs, the kind of jobs -- there's some sense we may have more job growth from auto, for example. obviously education and health in the private sector have done reasonably well. but not government. government work seems to be on the down side. and initially what we're seeing is people coming back on a temporary basis. and what you want to see, you've had a spike in temporary worker, you want to see those jobs become permanent. >> steve liesman, good to have you on. so just how are americans reacting to all of this this and how will the white house react in the coming months? john harwood joins us with more. john, good morning. >> good morning, savannah. >> so we finally get a good jobs report. our poll which we just showed a few minutes ago shows americans are more pessimistic about the economy. does the white house believe will jobs report is a signal of a real economic recovery and how worried are they about these rising gas prices perhaps knocking the wind out of the sails of the recovery again?

>> they do think, i talked to austan goolsbee yesterday who chairs the council of economic advisers, that this is showing the economy finally getting on solid ground. but of course as steve suggested, it's going to be a slow climb out of this $8 million -- 8 million job hole that was created by this recession. and interestingly savannah, it creates a different context for the budget talks that are going on now between the white house and republicans. because now that the obama administration is not pushing a drill gone dollar stimulus plan, not pushing a trillion dollar health care plan, but it's taken a very long time to get unemployment down, you've got americans and we saw this reflected in our poll saying government needs to do something. we saw a majority saying government need it is to do more rather than government doing too many hinges. so the white house thinks that's going to help them resist some of the budget cuts which the republicans are pushing and which the president keeps saying over and over might erode our ability to, quote, win the future which is the new mondant

of this white. >> they did pass a short term budget this week, congress did, so we won't have a government shutdown right now, but is there still a possibility considering how very far apart both sides are right now? >> absolutely there is. we've got would weeks to negotiate. i think most people on both sides expect that there is going to be another short term extension and what we saw this past week was that with vice president biden and chief of staff bill daley getting involved in sort of taking central roles in will this negotiation, it's really kick started things. once those begin in earnest and if they are able to make some progress, i think most people expect there will be another short terp extension. but there is no question that given the scale of the difference between the two sides and some of the things that these house republican freshmen want to cut, you could have a showdown that will dovetail with the desire by the administration to raise the federal debt limit. there is a lot of hard bargain to go come. >> and speaking of hard bargain, let's talk about what's

happening in wisconsin. both sides still very much dug in and governor walker saying he is ready to send layoff notices. how does this end? >> i'm not sure how it ends. democrats have a lot of determination to stay out of this and when you looked at our poll, you saw some ropes for democrats to dig in. 70% -- 77% of the american people said they agree that state and local government workers who are part of unions should have the ability to negotiate through collective bargaining over benefits and pensions, which is what scott walker wants to take away from them. also the idea that walker is beginning to send out these layoff notices to state workers at a time when as steve's report and your report showed earlier 30,000 state and local government jobs lost around the country, that's the weak spot in it employment. that's pot necessarily what americans want to hear. so scott walker is losing a little biof t of altitude, on t other hand he's a newly elected

governor, he's got some determination to try to follow through on his program. he's probably at the peak ability to make that happen. so don't know whether he's going to back down and exactly how they get out of this. >> indeed. john harwood with the political headlines morning. thank you. and now hear's lester. the unrest continues in libya as this morning there are reports that moammar gadhafi's forces broke through rebel lines near the capital of tripoli. stephanie gosk joins us from benghazi with the latest. stephanie, good morning. >> reporter: good morning, lester. well, there was a big hit for the rebels here last night, an ammunition depot blew up, a large depot just on the edge of benghazi. 26 were killed and many most of wounded. they told us they believe gadhafi's forces were behind the blast, but this was not an air strike and it's a little unclear quhapd. the rebels are mostly in-expensed, they're handling very dangerous weapon anry and it could have very easily been an accident. there is also news here on the fighting front, the opposition continues to push gadhafi's

forces even further west. it will be a big victory to capture the town where they're finding right now. there is a large oil it terminal there. rebels say they want to push all the way to tripoli. >> it's remarkable to watch he's rebel forces try to take on a trained army. how are they doing it? is this all captured weapons that they've been using? >> reporter: they are all captured weapons and there are more depots than the one that exploded last night that they have control over. but on top of that, there is a large element of former will i be began military. some of them high ranking officers that join the rebels almost as soon as the fighting began. so will is a trained element behind them. they could be pushing and coordinating their efforts. >> stephanie gosk for us this morning in benghazi. thanks very much. now here is savannah. >> a big storm system is making its way across the country today and that could mean the start of flooding in the midwest.

bill karins is ratracking that storm. >> 15 states are expecting flooding and hundreds of rivers will be out of their banks and thousands of people getting water out of their basements. tennessee valley and ohio valley. the ray car this morning, it's just lit up. there is a ton of rain out there. even a lot of thunderstorms we've been dealing with around memphis. and this threat is moving slowly like a turtle and that's the reason for the concern. we've had all the snow melt, the rivers are already high and now we have this huge rain event over the top of it and we're predicting as much as two to three inches over river has are already flood pentagon so that big time problems as we go into sunday and monday as the rivers begin to crest especially in the ohio valley. and other side note for our friends in northern new england, it this will turnover into a heavy wet snow, could even see some areas over a foot by the time monday morning comes around. >> and to think i felt a little warm when we walked in this morning. >> just remember the early part of the winter, that would have been snow. so we count other blessings.

time for a check of some of the morning's other headlines. we say hello to richard lui. >> after 14 years it came down to a cigarette butt. connecticut police and i say they cost the east coast rapist pip arrest ron thomas was arrested bring. he the tacked at least 17 women in four states. the big break came from a tip after police sketches appeared on electronic billboards. police watched the suspect, got his d ncht a from a cigarette butt that he threw out. always for you, jared loughner was charged with dozens of new federal charges on friday, this as a new picture right here was released of what appears to be moments before the shooting. the 49 count indictment includes the murders of the federal judge, the congressional aide and the four other victims as they were attending a political event with congresswoman gabrielle giffords. federal authorities have not said if they will seek the death penalty. scott walker has told the state employ we coulds union he will hand out pink slips to 1500

workers. the layoffs would be effective april 4th. walker saying the cost savings are necessary here since the state senate has not vote order his proposed anti-union legislation. that bill has sparked days of protests. 14 democrats are still refusing to show up and stroet for the controversial measure. and then dangling 12 stories high, two workers secured by their safety harnesses were left in a lurch after their scaffold collapsed. then from the 26th floor, firefighters repelled down, attaching a rope and then guiding the men one by one safely to the ground. they've extended talks again on how to divide $9 billion in revenue. the nfl and the players union are taking a weekend break after agreeing to extend the deadline for negotiations one more week. on monday they will try again to hammer out a new collective bargaining agreement. and sfloo and then finally, tig their debut at the lisbon zoo friday. they're five months old and are

extremely rare. there are only 130 tigers of this species left in the world. now back to lester, savannah and bill. aw, shuck, huh? >> yeah, pretty cute for now. >> a lot cuter than the weather guy, but we won't go there. >> you're adorable. >> fishing for a forecast. >> how about your forecast? >> into the so adorable. we had other areas that aren't going to seat best weekend weather either. a norm system coming on short. so san francisco northwards, heavy rain for you. middle of the country behind will the big storm system, some cold air moving in through the northern plains. some of that chilly air will arrive in areas like chicago today. on the eas

dealing with a foot come monday morning in areas of vermont, northern new york and possibly even northern portions of maine. that's your weekend forecast. savannah? and now london where the british government has released its own version of the x files. thousands of previously classified documents, photographs and drawings revealing ufo sightings and alien abductions. now here's the details. >> reporter: there are those who will always believe in what others think is just unbelievable. these files certainly reveal that if nothing else. for those with a fer tile

imagination, the movies have more than just science fiction. release hd this week, thousands of documents revealing close encounters of all kinds. they include photographs of alleged sightings, this one over sri lanka and hovering above london. flying objects both unidentified and often unbelievable. this spaceship was supposedly seen making crop circles. >> it's a modern myth, the only way to describe it. >> reporter: 8 1/2 thousand pages have many made public, they include a cia letter from the '50s referring to flying saucers and ena claim by the prime minister of grenada that he had seen aircraft. all of it less science and more fiction. p. >> you see a bright light in the sky, it could be a satellite, a piece of space debris, could be thinking. they immediately think ufo. >> reporter: one of the many laters describes a strange

craft, i was 00 bloody terrified, says the and you thorks wondering if his close encounter had caused time to shift. that night british clocks had been turned back an hour. but there were times when things looked more serious. in 1967 -- >> reports coming in of ufo sightings and objects found on the ground. >> reporter: it turned out to be a student prank. all the same, a department set up by prime minister winston churchill to look if to ufos was only closed in 2008. and there is no end to people's fascination. >> will i this is mystery whichy still enjoys huge public interest. >> reporter: and while for many these documents help explain the unexplain unexplained, others will find not answers, but more questions. so the mystery continues. >> it does indeed. thank you. and still to come, store brands versus generic.

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still to come, a young mother expecting her second child vanishes without a trace just days before her husband is deployed to afghanistan. now police are scrambling to find out out what happened. we'll have that story next. plus after more than 70 years, new clues could finally solve the mystery of amelia earhart's disappearance. we'll have that story coming up. but first, hethese messages.

good morning to you. take a live look at the golden gate bridge this morning. off to a mild start but some  hawaiian weather. i'm kris sanchez along with rob myette ta. >> we're going to see moisture coming in off of hawaii aiming in across the north bay. if you have to pick one of the two weekend mornings to get out and do your run, today is going to be your day. dry right now. we do see some of that moisture trying to come in, most of it overnightfalling around lake county up towards mendocino

county. you can see the clouds underneath the today in the bay logo in the screen there is the tropical moisture. most of the intense rain is going to stay to our north. as we start today off certainly. you'll notice the clouds filling in. mid to upper 60s around san jose. eventually toward this evening is when the rain is going to come through. tomorrow, a wet start to your sunday morning. warmer and a mainly dry forecast as we pass the beginning of the workweek. chris? >> thank you very much. new this morning, a big rig carrying propane is causing problems on the roadways this morning for people heading up to sierra. the big rig crashed into power lines on westbound highway 80 in sacramento. officers say that none of the propane appears to be leaking out of the truck but are reporting that the fuel is leaking at the crash site. here's a look at the roadways this morning.

this is highway 80 and norwood past the crash. if you're heading up to the snow, you will be traveling eastbound. right now the lanes are open. crews are still working on cleaning up the crash. also, police are still trying to track down a woman they say may have em bez ezzaled more than $50,000 from trace school. 40 years vanessa reyes may be in southern california. another woman was arrested at the school this week where she works as an office clerk. police say the two are former leaders of the parent teacher organization. they noticed bills for things like itunes and restaurants being charged to the school's fund. police now believe the women used the money to pay for groceries, jogging shoes and family trips to leg lowland. the money was supposed to pay for school freeld trips, physical education and teacher

grants. that is the elementary school in san jose which burned last year. coming up this morning, from fighting fires to fighting for their jobs, firefighters vote on a contract deal this weekend. we're going to talk to with their union representative live in the studio coming up at 7:00. more local news in just about a half an hour. ♪ ♪ hello sshe ♪s yocan be ♪ove u [ chuckl ] o ur morody ♪ ♪ can tell it's gon be ♪we day [ feouer ] wake up et th nut cios real. kissedith real honey for a mmy ta that's jusrit. and the 100% nural whole ai

trea hea set. and the 100% nural whole ai because eyan help loyour choster back now on this saturday morning, march 5th, 2011. a great group of people on the plaza braving a bit of rain, so our thanks to the folks spending a bit of their morning with us. inside studio 1a this morning, i'm savannah guthrie filling in for amy. and coming up, tragedy on the courts. >> a high school basketball star dies moments after scoring the winning shot for his team. emergency workers were on the scene, they desperately tried to save his life. we'll tell you what doctors believe happened and whether it could have been prevented. and then what you haven't heard yet from charlie sheen.

he says he's winning and he vows to return to his sitcom. but with his children now removed from it his home, the sitcom star is facing one of the toughest challenges yet fighting to get them back. coming up, jeff rossen is giving us an exclusive look inside charlie sheen's home. and then it's a story getting a lot of attention this morning. natalie portman and former arkansas governor mike huckabee, the academy award winner, is pregnant and engaged to be married, but the possible 2012 presidential candidate says portman and those watching her may be sending the wrong message glam rising the idea of out of wedlock children. it's cuing a bit of a firestorm. but first a disturbing mystery unfolding in virginia. a young pregnant mother has gone missing around as time races on, authorities are trying to track down leads. richard lui has the story. good morning. >> good morning. yes, they seem like the typical u.s. couple. bethany decker is a full-ti

student, her husband stationed in afghanistan. but beth an if i has been missing since the end of january. >> reporter: choking back tears, evelyn has a heart breaking message to a mission granddaughter. >> bethany, if you're out there, please give us a call. we love you and we'd love to hear from you. >> reporter: family, friends, the police, all desperately trying to find bethany ann decker, a young pregnant mother who vanished without a trace. the 21-year-old college steen senior was last seen entering her virginia apt on january the 29th, her parked car was pound in the lot but no sign of bethany. >> she was registered for the spring semester which started at the end of january. but never showed up for class. >> reporter: what is most unsettling is is that relatives say bethany would never abandon her 17 month old son who was staying with bethany's grandparents while she's in school. >> not being in contact with him, i mean, he's just cute as can be, and missing that time

with him is quite concerning. that's what's alarming to us, too. >> reporter: from scouring nearby fields to seeking information over the internet, the search to bethany has been extensive, but continues to come up empty. investigators have recently spoken to her husband, army private emil decker was reportedly with bethany in hawaii in january. but when he was endeployed to afghanistan on february the 2nd, bethany was not at the airport to say good-bye. police say he is not a suspect. >> we need to come up with a time line as far as their contact with each other before he was sent back to afghanistan. >> reporter: for now, there is only the waiting and the hope that a pregnant woman deeply loved and dearly missed will come home. >> she just had a personality about her that everybody loved and a twinkle of her little eyes. >> and police say they've seen no indication of foul play and they've been in contact with emil in afghanistan.

>> thank you. joining us thousand with more insight is former fbi profiler clint van zant. good morning. >> i think one of the most per flexing aspects is that bethany disappeared in late january and was not reported missing until i think three weeks later. how difficult does this investigation become because of that lapse in time? >> that's a real chal financial law enforcement. if you tell me somebody went missing yesterday, all i have to do is account k. for tfor 24 ho. if she went missing three weeks ago that really put as strain on law enforcement trying to understand where should she have been, had she used her cell phone, her credit cards, was she in contact with family members, any other person that's friend. there is a lot to be done trying to account for three weeks in any of our lives. >> decker's husband as richard reported is in the national guard and had deployed to afghanistan. they had just been on this trip

to hawaii. she did not show up he airport to see him off. her family didn't hear from her all the time so they weren't take concerned. i know investigators are not looking at him as a suspect, but surely they want to talk to him to try to put this time line together. >> they really do and i know they've done this electronically. if i was an investigator, i would ask the army to bring him back, realize that he's the last person who had any contact with h her. we know statistically the biggest challenge for a pregnant woman, the greatest cause of death in the part of a pregnant woman is homicide, murder by a couple of different studies. and of course we all know that you look at the significance other, the husband, the father of the child, so all of these reasons say let's either rule him in or rule him out like the sheriff says by a time line and let's find out who else she had any type of contact with, friends, relationships. we have to find out who those people are, too.

i mean, she wasn't taken by aliens, we know that. we know something significant happened. if the family says she has contact with her son all the time, what happened in this last three week period. and if her husband was the last person to see her alive, obviously he's somebody that we have to interview. >> so they say there is to signs of foul play and yet she hasn't used any of her credit card, she hasn't used her facebook which makes you think it doesn't sound like she disappeared of her own volition to say nothing of the fact that she does have this 17 month old son. this feels like a real mystery. >> it really is, but the only thing that makes it a mystery is that there are questions unanswered right now. we know that for anyone in her age group, i mean, you are glued to facebook, you're glued to a cell phone. so within the first couple of days when she wasn't making contact with family members, not withstanding she was going to college, she was working a job, her son was being kept by family members, so she could do this. if she had this type of daily,

weekly contact, i really, really wish and i know law enforcement does, too, that they could have had a chance to mount this investigation quicker. but right now, first of all, we've got to rule in, recall out her husband and then anybody else that she had contact with, any other close friendships that she may have developed while her husband was overseas. >> we know they are looking hard for her. clint, thank you. and time now for a check of your saturday forecast from bill karins who has made it out on to the plaza. >> not too bad for our crowd. a little cool. we'll talk about some winter weather, though, unfortunately. still not spring yet. the northern plains is going to be the worst of it as we go up through new england. that's where we already have winter storm watches in effect for areas like syracuse, northern portions of vermont. rain will it turn to snow. maybe even heavy snow, up to a foot possible.t turn to snow. maybe even heavy snow, up to a foot possible.urn to snow. maybe even heavy snow, up to a foot possible. possibly even up in to northern areas of maine. the rest of the forecast all the

concerns are in the ohio we'll start things off with a look at the radar. we've had a few showers in the far north bay overnight, mainly north of lake county and sonoma county. the moisture is going to aim in mainly just to our north today. we'll get clouds out of it. not much empty way of rain drops most north of san francisco. highs in the up ter 60s, even near 70 around gilroy. mid 60s for san jose. this time tomorrow morning, rain and showers to wrap up the weekend. the mild side. out on the plaza, we're proud, beautiful and 60. congratulations to you. >> thank you so much. >> and then your friend down here, also 60. >> thank you. >> we'll send it back inside to le lester and savannah. coming up, saving money at the supermarket. what if you could save 20 force

30% on your grocery bill? we'll show you how. plus more than 70 years after she and her plane vanished, do we finally know what happened to amelia earhart some we'll te ? we'll tell you about some interesting new findings. thanks to the venture card from capital one, we get double miles on every purchase. so we earned a trip to new orleans twice as fast! bebebebebebaaa! we get double miles every time we use our card, no matter what we're buying. i'll take it. and since double miles add up fast, we can bring the whole gang. fire! [ garth ] it's hard to beat double miles! have you seen garth? oh! [ male announcer ] get the venture card from capital one.

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don't mind if i do! this morning on today's consumer, savoring money at the supermarket. what if you could cut your grocery bill by 25% to 30%. janice lieberman is here with information you'll want to hear. >> these are big numbers. we've all heard of generic or store brands, but did you know on average they cost about a third of their name brand counterparts? so how do they stack up when it comes to taste? we put our own unscientific experiment to find out. ♪ pop makes the world go round snoed. >> more and more choose city mothers choose jiff ♪ >> reporter: the names have been branded in to our consumer consciousness.

oreo, rice crisp cities, pop secret. >> i only buy kraft because that's what my kids love. >> reporter: with five kids to feed, it cost as lot of dough for that cheese. new jersey mom says she spends about $500 a week on groceries. but would her family really taste the difference if we switched their favorite foods? we set up a secret experiment to find out. weed with ally buy generic for 22 of her weekly staples. she watched out breakfast toods like cereal, oatmeal and juice and exceptions lie peanut butter, deli meat and mac and cheese.juice and exceptions lie butter, deli meat and mac and cheese.and juice and exceptions peanut butter, deli meat and mac and cheese.like cereal, oatmeal and exceptions lie peanut butter, deli meat and mac and home we set up the illusion, putting store brand products in the name brand packages. do you feel bad tricking them?

>> no. >> reporter: in a recent study, 54% of consumers said they're buying more store brands. and in the latest consumer reports tasteoff, generics often scored at least as good as name brands. >> people are catching on. they're getting wise to the fact that store brands can be a cost effective alternative without compromising on quality. so it's a great way to save money and, heck, you might like the product, too. >> reporter: a week after secretly switching their favorite foods, we told the kaplan family they had been duped. what did you really notice? >> when i ate the turkey, i noticed it tasted different than my normal sandwich and it wasn't as good. >> i'm really particular with pmy peanut butter sandwich and tasted really different. it was dry p. >> i remember the oatmeal, it was really disgusting. >> reporter: kids don't mince words. especially when it comes to cookies. >> i took one bite and i put it

down and threw it out. it was very bad. disgusting. >> reporter: nine of the 22 products got a thumbs down. but 13 were winners. >> the pancakes tasted the same. i didn't notice a difference. >> you changed the ketchup, too? >> yeah. >> reporter: i was a really startling statistic to tell you. if you switched to generics, you would save $4,000 a year. >> that that's what i'm talking about. >> reporter: they definitely substitute some items for generic brands and there is really not a difference except for the price. >> our experiment looked at one family's opinions, but everyone's tastes are different. so experts say if you're looking for save a buck, why not try them. the store brands run 20% to 50% less and most offer a money back guarantee. so if you don't like it, you just take it back. nothing lost. so lester, i thought it was time for you to try a few things and see if you would say it's disgusting or they were fine. we have cookies and crackers.

>> one of these is a famous brand? >> and one a store brand. right. >> okay. let me try it. >> and in the meantime, i want to tell you that most of the formulas are the same. >> do they try to clone them is it. >> not exactly, but they will change there store to store. >> i got to tell you yorks notice a real difference. this one probably a little better. this is a. >> store brand. >> this is the store brand? >> okay. >> you've been duped. >> do i have time for the crackers? one of he's is -- okay. >> yes. >> okay. >> a crack ser is a cracker. now we can't talk the rest of the show, but that's okay. >> same. >> really? they look very similar. >> yeah. >> well, after the was the winner. >> that's the store brand.

>> no, that's the name brand. >> they taste the same to me. >> and 50% less. >> that's a lot of money. and i'm wondering with the kids if it just didn't taste as good or it wasn't what they were used to. >> that's a big savings. she'll save about $5,000 a year. >> he'll money. thanks. good to have you here. anor fngeedi. feeding me. up next, could the mystery be solved in new details on the disappearance of amelia earhart. . i had a bum knee that needed surgery. but it got complicated, because i had an old injury. so i wanted a doctor who had done this before. and unitedhealthcare's database helped me find a surgeon. you know you can't have great legs, if you don't have good knees. we're 78,000 people looking out for 70 million americans. that's health in numbers. unitedhealthcare.

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[ squawking ] ♪ it is one of the biggest mysteries of our time and new clues in the disappearance of amelia earhart offered hope of an explanation. there is finally fresh evidence, but what did it tell us? >> her name is known the world

over. amelia earhart is famous not just for being the first woman to fly solo across the atlantic but for her disappearance. interest is as high as if it happened yesterday. >> we cannot hear you on 500. >> she has been the subject of movies but in reality a quest for answers turned up new evidence documented in a discovery channel special. it was found on a small island in the south pacific. >> if we're right at this, then earhart did not crash and die at sea as the government decided she had nor was she captured by the japanese. >> the group found bone fragments on the island where some believe she lived as a cast away. the results are now in from scientists at the university of oklahoma. >> unfortunately at this time it is inconclusive. we have a little bit of bone

left. i don't feel it is appropriate to destroy the bone for analysis. it might be better to save it for future opportunities. >> there were other discoveries. the broken mirror of a compact. did they bethrong earhart? >> the belief that the findings belonged to amelia earhart is about as high as it can be. >> the scientists are still researching what appears to be soil or human feces. >> this morning a new report has been released that locals claim to have found the wreck of earhart's plane in 230 feet of water on a reef in the region and testing will now begin as the mystery continues. >> makes you feel like you might

have an answer. >> seeing the woman's compact mirror is interesting. still to come, love him or hate him or just tired of him, inside the world of charlie sheen. my diet? well yesterday i had an apple turnover. i know it's sort of my weakness. i always keep it in the house. well, that and boston crème pie, white chocolate strawberries, and mmm key lime pie. yeah, i've already lost some weight. [ female announcer ] yoplait light -- over 30 delicious flavors at about 100 calories. babe, what are you doing?! ♪ [ female announcer ] the yoplait you love, now in a 4-pack. try it today.

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still to come, another athlete lost at a young age, a high school player dies after sinking the game winning shot. we'll tell you what doctors think happened. plus the oscar winner versus the gcht op hope pl. just what did mike huckabee say about natalie portman and why is it causing such a firestorm. the details next. but first these messages. plain rode away on lion's mane. where plain met fruits with strangely names. such wonderful things they did contain.

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good morning to you. a live look at the bay bridge twinkling in the darkness. sun up still a little bit farther down the road for us. i'm kris sanchez along are rob may yet ta. it was nice and toasty this morning. >> compared to last weekend where we had snow around parts of the bay area. today, a different story. we're warmer right now than the highs we had last saturday. 50s in spots around the bay area. the radar still pretty dry. i think the morning is going to be just fine including the north

bay. as you get up towards the north coast, mendocino county, a few showers there. most of the moisture at least during the day today is going to be staying north of most of the bay area. 46 in oakland. 4 in san francisco. 50 in san jose. for the afternoon, we're looking at mid to upper sims for most of the bay area today. showers for the far north bay late in afternoon spreading south by this time tomorrow morning, the rain back in the picture and drying out throughout the weekend and most of the week ahead looks dry with more showers at times approaching thursday. >> thank you very much, rob. new this morning, a jackknifed big rig carrying propane is causing problems on the roadways for folks headed to it the sierra this morning. the big rig crashed into power lines on westbound interstate 80 near bright bend bridge in sacramento. officers say none of the propane is leaking out of the truck but some of the fuel is leaking at the crash site. here's a look at the roadways this morning. this is interstate 0 and norwood

past the crash. if you are headed to the snow today, you will be traveling eastbound. right now those lanes are open. as crews work to clean up the situation, that could change. the fbi is on the hunt for suspected con man linked to a spring of bank scams throughout the bay area. this is how at the strikes. he imernnates unsuspecting victims is, goes to the banks, cleans out their accounts. take a look at the surveillance photos we have for you. federal agents believe this man is the man they are looking for wanted in connection with a series of crimes starting back in april of 2009. stretching from reno to the bay area. last year, he went into several banks in san francisco, south city, and san mateo, impersonated his victims and with drew big chunks of cash. caltrain is in a state of fiscal emergency this morning, and it is about to cost riders. the board is dealing with a $30 billion -- rather $30 million deficit and declared a fiscal

emergency this week. cuts could include fewer weekday trains and suspension of all weekend service, and there could also be a 25 cent fare hike. the board is talking about closing the south san francisco belmont, santa claire and ansan bruno stations. changes could go into effect july 2nd. come up, a college hockey team back on the ice after a six-game suspension. we'll talk with the team's leader how the team is trying to bounce back from allegations of hazing and how the team is clearing its name. for local news coming up for you in about a half an hour. we'll see you then. [ alarm blares ] [ female announcer ] important events can sneak up on you. oh, i am not ready. [ female announcer ] but in two weeks, you could feel ready. introducing yoplait light's two week tune up diet plan. you could lose 5 pounds in 2 weeks when you replace breakfast and lunch with a fruit, grain, and yoplait light. betsy bets. you haven't changed a bit.

oh...neither have you... sean. well, yeah. [ female announcer ] go to yoplait.com to start your two week tune up. welcome back to it today on a saturday morning. we have got an excited crowd out here this morning. happy to have company with us on the plaza. we've got a light drizzle here. at least it is well above freezing. i'm lester holt along with savannah guthrie filling in for amy. you can loosen up a little bit. none of that formal white house stuff. >> it's very informal here. >> got a lot coming up here, including a tragedy on the basketball court we'll be talking about. >> this is such a sad story. a young man died moments after hitting the game-winning shot.

this is bringing fresh concern about the dangers young athletes are having. >> and the controversy over the whole murphy brown single mom. mike huckabee is talking about natalie portman and the fact she is pregnant. he's suggesting all this may be glamorizing out of wedlock children. that's causing a bit of a controversy. >> still on the topic of hollywood, we can't let this hour go by without talking about charlie sheen. hollywood's bad boy seems to be everywhere. he's developed a cult-like following. not just nbc's jeff rossen. he gained a million followers on twitters. he tweeted something about his godde goddesses, which is what he

calls his girlfriends. >> we'll have a late update. then you'll get a good laugh out of this. i don't know if you saw micah, who was on the "today" show. you may have seen him on the web. this incredibly infectious laugh. he and his folks are in the studio. we'll sit down with them he is a happy guy. i passed had him and he gave me a big grin. >> before we get to that, we'll get a check of the day's news. richard, good morning. >> good morning to you. we'll begin in lib youia where rebels suffering both setbacks and success in the fight to outfit moammar gadhafi. loyalists broke through today. the dawn attack could prove crucial to the defense. elsewhere, sources say rebels

captured the oil field from pro gadhafi forces. gas prices have shot up 35 cents nation wide since the battle in libya. gas prices are taking a toll on just about everyone. >> reporter: here you pay a premium for premium. $4.99 in west covina, california, pumping out some of the high offeest gas prices of nation. we find the price of gas affects an entire city's economy. 79-year-old mario del fonte, a second generation florist, worries his business will wither away. his livelihood and that of his eight employees is on the line. when gas prices shot up, so did delivery costs. $50 to fill up his small van.

>> how much more we can sand, i can't answer that. >> reporter: $100 for this realtor to fill up her suv. >> i stay you with this car because you it's paid for. >> reporter: one silver lining, the pinch at the pump pushed many off the road and onto the rails. mass transit use is up 10%. >> here's a number that will make you smile. 8.9. the labor departments said the latest unemployment number is the lowest since april 2009. the private sector added $222,000, able to offset jobs squeezed by state and local governments. the best view in yonkers, new york. they didn't want it. two men painting an apartment building were left dangling after scaffolding collapsed. the men were secure in safety harnesses. a firefighter repelled down to rescue one worker. the second was lowered 20

minutes later to the oh so sweet pavement. now back to lester on the plaza. >> when i first saw it, i thought it was from the spiderman musical. we'll get a check of the weather and bill karins. >> a little windy out here. our friends from akron, ohio. what's the best thing about akron, ohio? >> it used to be lebron james. >> if lebron is watching, we'll apologize. ohio is one of the areas along with our friends in indiana, illinois, kentucky, the ohio valley with the heavy rain hrtt. hr lash flood watches from cleveland to western new york. we're watching very heavy rain and thunderstorms moving from the memphis area approaingch nashville. that's where we'll see potential flash flooding. along the gulf, the chance for severe weather today from houston to new orleans. then by the time we're all said and done, 2 to 3 inches of rain with heavy, wet snow possible in

northern new england. a little of everything this weekend that hope and here's a look at the radar up on the north coast heading up towards santa rosa, ukiah and mendocino county. a lot of moisture offshore. for the most part, that should stay north of the bay area. in terms of the rain today, we will see a few showers drifting into the north bay later on. afternoon highs today actually kind of mild. mid to upper 60s from san jose. we'll see more ouds. expect to see rain tonight. then showers and clearing as we wrap up the weekend. friends in northern california an dbill, thanks. now to michigan where a community is mourning the tragic death of a 16-year-old basketball star who died after sinking the game-winning shot in overtime. ra haheema ellis has the story. >> reporter: his treatments described him as the perfect

kid. >> wes leonard was the all-american kid. that small town boy, the quarterback, the basketball star who kids looked up to. >> reporter: which is why people in this michigan town were shocked when the 16-year-old collapsed on the basketball court thursday night after hitting a game-winning layup leading his team to a perfect season. >> i heard someone screaming for me. just from the scream, i knew something was wrong. >> like i said, he was my best friend. when i got in the locker room of, i just died. >> reporter: two hours later, wes leonard was pronounced dead. >> he was a special kid with a passion. >> reporter: wes was recovering from the flu. on prfriday, the medical examin ruled his cause of death to be

an enlarged heart, often undiagnosed until after death. a facebook memorial page quickly filled with heart-felt messages as the high school faces its second tragedy in 14 months.tha died at home after a wrestling match last year. >> last night was a long and emotional night for us. >> reporter: yet another athlete lost at such a young age. >> and we are back right after these messages. oung age. for "today," arerehema ellis, n news, new york. >> and we are back right after these messages. or

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jeff rossen sat down with the star this week. >> reporter: charlie sheen is at a very dangerous intersection in his-right now and there is a lot at stake, his personal health, his children and truly everyone around him. this morning an exclusive new look inside sheen's life at home.this morning an exclusive look inside sheen's life at home.around him. this morning an exclusive new look inside sheen's life at home. sheen provided "dateline" with his own never before seen version of his reality. shot for us over the last 24 hours. >> so should we talk in code now that -- >> reporter: in the eye of his hurricane, another day, another problem. >> what do you recommend, talk to the cops or it tmz? >> reporter: but we also see calmer moments. taking care of newfound business opportunities and strategizing with his entourage, huddled around his dining room table. >> this is a think tank. >> reporter: they seem to be plotting his next moves and his

next attempts to capitalize on his exploding worldwide popularity, or infamy depending on how you see it. in in sequence shot by a friend on his back patio, his posse is talking about marketing the charlie sheen brand. >> $50,000 it t-shirts, four different styles -- >> i'm sorry, 50 million. >> reporter: we also catch a few glimpses of the hard boiled playboy armed with a cell phone and cigarette. there is always a supply of nicotine and caffeine on hand. almost a haze of smoke in the air. in between deals and meetings and inhaling, he makes time for his daily 5:00 a.m. workout. >> coming for you. >> reporter: and like his days on the set of major league, he makes time for a quick game of catch. all in all in fact sheen looks healthier and happier than i've

seen him all week. and his so-called goddesses? they're never far from his side at sheen's luxurious aclair. we also see his children's art work hanging on the wall of his kitchen, as well as his son's sippy cup that sheen has kept on display as a major shift shine. all if all, another glimpse into the real life soap opera playing to the camera. >> a little tougher than the average. >> reporter: and playing to a huge audience. >> and that, everybody, is my master plan. >> reporter: he says he's clean and sober and just wants to go back to work. at least that's charlie sheen's reality. >> thank god this whole thing was just a dream. >> reporter: but there may be trouble in paradise. overnight charlie sheen tweeted rachel has left the building.

we're sad. over it. applications now being accepted. so it appears one of the goddesses has left him in the past few hours. rachel, by the way, is the former porn star. sheen is just down to one godst. >> i have some questions for you, but i want to bring in attorney gloria allred who has represented a number of high profile clients. thanks for joining us. >> thanks for having me. >> on thursday two days after his estranged wife removed the children from his care, charlie tweeted not sure what all the legal noise is about. just verbally reached a deal with b. no court monday. yay. but tmz is reporting the deal is off. sheen will be in court monday. what do you think went wrong there and what's going to happen? >> well, what may have gone wrong is the fact that he spoke about the fact that there was a deal. because generally there is a confidential itity clause about

such deals. and if there is an allegation that he breached it, it may have upset the other side and therefore the deal may be off. >> his wife's emergency restraining order alleges physical domestic violence, but yet she didn't file a police report. would that work against her if there was no police filing? >> well, she's not required to file a police report and she has not filed a police report. i find, however, that her allegations in her declaration in support of the restraining order, which was issued, are very troubling. and she could file a police report and if she did, it might be referred by the police to the district attorney for prosecution. because she alleges threats, menacing of her, that he said he would cut her head off and send it in a box to her mother, that he threatened her with a pen knife, threatened to stab her in the eye with it, that he's made other threats to her.

and of course given the history of violence in the past, that he was convicted of assaults brooke mueller just in december of 2009. and given her other allegation that in october 2009, he knocked her to the floor, that she became unconscious, that she has photos of that and two witnesses. yes, that history of domestic violence is very, very troubling. >> let me bring jeff back in. jeff, mueller if her court filings says she believes charlie's rage is due not to anned a dinan anned a addiction, but to mental problems. recently passed a couple of drug tests. you're not a sigh cpsychologist what's your sense of his reality? >> we talked to some experts about that. some say he may be going crazy because he's not on drugs. he's abused drugs and alcohol and living a certain lifestyle for so many year, decades in fact according to some, that if

you took something away that you used every single day that was such a big part of your life for decades, how would you react. it's sort of the way experts put it. and in this case it's a physical addiction, as well. so while the drug tests have come back negative, while i do believe he's been clean in the past week at least on the times that i have seen him, there is clearly something going on where he doesn't fully have a grip on reality. it is his reality. he is confident in it. he's lucid when i speak with him. and so it's very difficult to say, this is somebody who has such a high level of self-confidence, some would say narcissism, that it's tough to know if he's just delusional or if this is just somebody who is uber uber confident. >> and this train that left the station a week ago with the rant, is there any regrets on this or is he just playing it sf. >> no regrets at all. in fact there have been a couple of occasions where he said something so outland addition and it's been sort of an off the record setting, we've beenle

rolling tape and just get something shots of us, but it was so outrageous, i called hip and said this is good stuff. i'd love to use it. since you actually do believe it, is that okay. and i would repeat back to him what he said. and one of the cases it was you told cbs that you want them to lick your feet while publicly apologizing to you. can we use it. and he said, yeah, use that. use that. i think the crazier it is, the more he likes it. no question he has no guilt, no regrets. >>or i can' ogloria, you had a . >> when you were talking about his mental state, it's interesting that in brooke mueller's declaration, his wife, soon to be ex-wife's declaration, she says that he is insane. that, in fact, if he is sober, then she is concerned about his mental health. and so it's going to be interesting in the legal case for custody, for visitation, about if there is a battle

because, lester, everything that he says, it can be used against him if it might have an impact on the children and their safety. >> all right, gloria allred, good to have you here. jeff, as well. thanks so much to both of you. >> still ahead, maybe laughter is the best medicine. we could use a little laughter now. meet youtube's newest sensation. but first th one minute you feel fine. the next, you start feeling bit off. the moment you feel run down or achy, nip flu-like symptoms in the bud, with oscillococcinum. get oscillo and feel like yourself again. oscillococcinum, nip it in the bud. so i've got to take care of my heart. for me cheerios is a good place to start. [ male announcer ] to keep doing what you love, take care of your heart with cheerios.

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a republican presidential hopeful who could be eyeing a run for the white house again finds himself embroiled in controversy today. earlier this week, mike huckabee called out oscar winner natalie portman for her behavior off the screen. >> reporter: natalie portman fresh off an oscar win for best actress has found a critic in an unexpected corner. former arkansas governor mike huckabee on a national book tour is drawing fire for a remark he

made about her on talk radio this week. >> one of the things that's troubling is that people see a natalie portman or some other hollywood starlet who boasts of, hey, look, we're having children, we're not married, but we're having these children and they're doing just fine. >> reporter: portman has won accolades for her performance in the movie "black swan." she met her fiance during filming and they're now expecting their first child. huckabee's remarks set off a firestorm online. some wondering why huckabee didn't single out bristol palin's unwed motherhood. others speculated huckabee is setting up a run for president by appealing to social conservatives. in a statement, huckabee said he was asked about portman's out of wedlock pregnancy and added, quote, i did not slam or attack natalie portman, nor can it i criticize the hard working single mothers in our country. but in a statement huckabee stood by his comments about the

difficulties of single motherhood. >> most single moms are very poor, uneducated, can't get a job, and if it weren't for government assistance, their kids would be starving to death and never have health care. >> all right, here we go. >> reporter: for some, the episode felt like a rerun reminiscent of when former vice president dan quayle stirred a nation wood controversy over family values when he criticized the figures natural character make your if i brown for having a child out of wedlock. >> i know it's not fashionable to talk about moral values. but we need to do it. >> reporter: as for huckabee, some suspect it this isn't about politics. >> this is not about mike huckabee trying to position position as somebody who is going to win a nomination or even win primaries. this is about mike huckabee making money. >> in his statement, huckabee says natalie is an extraordinary actor, very desearch of her recent oscar and i'm glad she will marry her baby's father. so the debate continues. >> all right, a lot more to

come. a baby with an infectious laugh taking the internet by storm. >> what's so funny? well, maybe kes up. u kes . he'll be here live along with his parents. but first these messages. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. and celebrex is not a narcotic. when it comes to relieving your arthritis pain, you and your doctor need to balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, including celebrex, may increase the chance of heart attack or stroke, which can lead to death. this chance increases if you have heart disease or risk factors such as high blood pressure or when nsaids are taken for long periods. nsaids, including celebrex,

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over 30 delicious flavors at about 100 calories. babe, what are you doing?! ♪ [ female announcer ] the yoplait you love, now in a 4-pack. try it today. good morning to you. take a live look at san francisco. a blue start to the morning. it's a little chilly this morning. rain returning to the forecast. thank you for joining us. i'm kris sanchez along with rob mayeda. you say probably more rainy than today. >> you saw san francisco cleared out pretty nice. san jose a clear start to the morning. just to the north, a lot of rain coming down. if you're heading up to ureka or crescent city, that's where the rain is. moisture going to aim in just to the north of us during the day

today. morning temperatures with partly cloudy skies, we've dropped down to the low 40s to near 40 actually in livermore. 46 san jose. the afternoon not too bad. temperatures mid 60s, upper 60s. mild for the afternoon. though you're going to see the filtered sunshine look as more clouds spill in later on. an increasing chance of rain. i think it's going to pick up after sundown for the north bay, then move north to south overnight. this time tomorrow morning, we'll have rain and clear out as we heads towards sunday evening. the week ahead, chances of rain moving further north. you see that this time of year march, we see it head off to the north of us. at least, highs in the mid 40s like we had last week. >> it's kind of nice and balmy. new this morning, a story we've been watching for you in case you were up early in morning. you might want to know a jackknifed big rig carrying propane is causing problems on the road for people headed to the sierra.

the chp says the big rig crashed into some power lines on westbound interstate 80 near bright bend bridge in sacramento. none of the propane is leaking out of the truck but are reporting a fuel spill at that crash site. here's a look at the roadway this morning. interstate 80 and norwood past the crash. if you are headed to the snow today, you'll be traveling eastbound. those lanes are open right now, but that could change as crews work to clean up the crash site and say they should have that done very soon this morning. new documents reveal utility crews were so concerned about the san bruno gas line there, they replaced a section years ago, but construction stopped one block short of where the pipeline exploded last year. records just released by the national transportation safety board show pg&e crews were worried about the line bursting during an earthquake and replaces five miles of it pipes 17 years ago. the stronger steel pipes ended just 300 yards from the

epicenter of september's explosion which killed eight people and destroyed dozens of homes. investigators are still trying to figure out why all of the pipes in the area weren't replaces. coming up on today in the bay, from fighting fires to fighting for jobs firefighters vote on a contract deal this weekend. we'll talk live with their union representative here in the studio. today in the bay starts at 7:00. we'll see you very soon. ♪ [ male announcer ] unrestrained. unexpected. and unlike any hybrid you have ever known. ♪ introducing the most fuel-efficient luxury car available. ♪ the radically new... 42 mile per gallon ct hybrid from lexus.

♪ welcome to the darker side of green. and we're back on a saturday morning, march 5th, 2011. another great crowd here. we thank them for joining us. a little bit drizzly, but a warm mannering. i'm savannah guthrie along with lester holt. coming up, the man behind america's most wanted. >> john walsh is known as a crime fighter. he's helped chase down a lot of fugitive, but of course he suffered his own personal tragedy. he and his wife lost their son adam. and for so long, they never had justice and they finally have it and they'll share their story with us coming up.

>> also ahead, a lot of people like to use the internet to try to sell their home, but there are dos and don'ts. are you using the web correctly? we'll talk to barbara cork ran, she'll show us which are the key phrases that buyers are looking for.cork ran, she'll show us which are the key phrases that buyers are looking for. >> and i dare you to keep a straight face watching this. [ laughing smchlt [. >> come on, how cute is that? he's awake, by the way. that's baby mica. he is the newest internet sensation. 5 million hits to watch him laughing as his father rips up a rejection notice. we can't wait to sit down and talk to them. >> that baby is so famous. i saw hill stopping and giving automatgraphs earlier. a lot to get to, but first a check of the weather. bill karins has the latest. >> good morning, everyone. a lot of college students get a bad wrap, because few wake up

early on a saturday morning because they would like to say hi to who? >> donald, my grandfather. >> what's special going on? >> miss birthday is monday and he wanted knee come on the "today" show and say hi to him. >> what town? >> benson, vermont. >> very nice of you. let's talk about the forecast because it's a very active one. heavy rain in the ohio valley, flooding threat through the weekend, severe storms possible along the gulf coast. and then we'll deal with that rain moving up through vermont later on tonight. could change over to snow. maybe even heavy snow, areas of upstate new york and up into new england. it looks like the they have very rain threat on the east coast will be this in the afternoon and evening for the big cities like d.c., new york up to boston. and speak that have, you're not going to see much rain around the bay area at least for the morning. mainly around mendocino county,

heading up towardshe yreka. we'll get high clouds as we head through the afternoon. morning temperatures cold enough for a jacket with low 40s outside. mid to upper 60s this afternoon around san jose. late today into tonight the rain moves north to south. into this time tomorrow morning. then late clearing to wrap up the weekend and a few more showers on thursday. around phoenix. where are we all from? >> ohio. >> what's the occasionally for the trip? >> senior trip. >> how many students made the trip? >> 25. >> i see a lot of females. how many guys? >> i think eight. >> are they lucky or being punished? >> absolutely lucky. >> you hear that, guys? let's head it back inside. we never know where we'll find the next internet sensation. but with over 5 million and counting, will definitely makes the cut. >> meet ten month old mica mcarthur who has caught the world by storm with his infectious laugh prompted only

by his father ripping of all thing as job rejection letter. take a look. >> joining us is marcus, mandy and baby mica. welcome to all of you. mica was pretty amused by that. you get this job rejection letter, you start ripping it up. can it you have any idea you'd get this kind of reaction? >> not at all. we had never done the whole paper ripping thing with him at all, so we had no idea. and i certainly wasn't doing -- he was just sitting next to me on the couch, so i wasn't even trying to -- >> does it have to be a job rejection letter or any pain

sner. >> paper? >> any paper tends to work. >> nothing? >> a little smile. >> sorry, let me try. all right. this is going no good place. >> first of all, he's a very good baby. he was here yesterday, he's put up with us today. how did this thing end up on the internet and become such a sensation? >> well, actually, it was just a few hours after i filmed it i thought i'm going to post it. i'd never posted a video on ucht tube before, but i thought this one is so fun and instead of just sharing it with our family and friends, i'll put it out there for the public to see not thinking more than 100 people would ever see it. and this happened. >> and mandy, i guess al wlis a milan know is that how it went viral? >> yeah, the day before stweete it, 15,000 creviews and then 490

and it took off. >> so it just move on now? >> i guess so. we didn't seek this out, so we're kind of feeling our way through the dark and just enjoying every single minute of it, being here in, no, meeting all you guys. >> were in any commercial offers, films? >> how can we turn this into a business? >> how do i sign you is my question. >> we haven't had any contacts yet. >> but we're definitely interested. we hope to build some fund it is for him. >> is he always this this happy? i got to tell you, we've had a lot of families and their kids in here and some epic melt downs oig at this hour of the morning and he's been just good as gold. he always has a big grin on his face. >> almost ols. if he's really tired or really hungry, but most often. >> i almost got you. here we go. >> and do you find yourself trying to do other things to produce that laugh again? i mean, is it always paper or do other things work? >> oh, yeah, a lot of things work. we don't really have to try very hard actually.

just last night, running the back of his head or something, and he just thought that was hilarious. >> well, you have a gold one there. congratulations to both of you. one more time. nothing? is it my technique that's all wrong? >> mica -- nothing. >> well, the good news is we are ready for new years, happy. happy new year. >> mandy, marcus, mica. look, he's mesmerized by lester. we'll be right back right after this. when your eyes are smiling... you're smiling. and when they're laughing... you're laughing. be kind to your eyes... with transitions lenses. transitions adapt to changing light so you see your whole day comfortably... and conveniently while protecting your eyes from the sun. ask your eyecare professional which transitions lenses are right for you.

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with aveeno nourish plus moisturize. active naturals wheat formulas target and help repair damage in just 3 washes. for softer, stronger... ... hair with life. [ female announcer ] visit aveeno.com to save on nourish plus. now to a murder case that traumatized the skun and turned devastated parents in to crusaders for missing children. and now a new book reveals surprising pieces of evidence that finally helped solve the murder of 6-year-old adam walsh. adam's parents will join us in a moment to discuss the details, but first how this tragedy unfolded. >> reporter: it was a parent's unimaginable horror. >> these people are keeping going. everyone knows adam's alive and it's just a matter of finding him. >> reporter: 6-year-old adam walsh disappeared from a sears

tent store in the summer of 1981. and the case took a horrific turn. two weeks after he was kidnapped, the little boy's head was discovered in a florida canal. >> i don't know who would do this to a 6-year-old child. i can't conceive of it. >> reporter: a serial killer was the prime suspect. the convicted murderer even confessed to the gruesome crime. but he was never charged with the murder. adam's parents, john and r event ve walsh, went on to become advocates for crime victims and his tv series helped to solve many cases. but adam's case remained wide open. in 2006, the walshs asked joe matthews, a retired homicide detective and family friend, to conduct an independent investigation. evidence was pieced together and police officially closed the case in 2008.

honest tool, who had died in prison years earlier, was named adam walsh's killer. >> three decades he's been the suspect from confessions to sightings to witness interviews. it's all there. >> it was a moment they had long a it wad. >> there is no words that can tell you how i feel. >> it's about justice. and for all the other victims who haven't gotten justice, i say one thing. don't give up hope. don't give up hope. >> john and rev event wa vchltr us loond wialong with the autho book. 27 years. why so long to finally go back and take another look? >> well, we never gave up looking, lester. many different police agencies outside of the hollywood, florida police department were krit kafl the way the case was handled. >> because there was a suspect,

a guy named ottis toole. did you think he was the guy? >> there was so many different random leads coming in back when this was going on and that was just one of them. >> this was a guy who said i did it. he'd confess and then recant and then confess again. >> and i did feel heavy to that side that he could have been a likely suspect, but i never really had the closure that i needed. i just -- i always had bits and pieces of the case. the guys wanted to protect me from hearing the bad things and i said, no i have to know, i really have to know. about and i felt resentment that john was solving everyone else's case and i really got at him about it. >> so you pick up with what's left and you find stuff that the renlg investigati original investigators didn't look. >> ottis toole, i interviewed hundreds of people, i found evidence that had never been

identified before. the most compelling was there was crime scene photos that were taken by florida department of law enforcement of the suspect vehicle. and the vehicle was long missing. the carpeting was long missing. but these photos had never been developed. and when i asked for them, they said they didn't exist. and i researched myself and they developed it and that was the most compelling evidence. >> ottis toole died in 1996. if this case went to really with the evidence you've uncovered, do you think it would be a slam dunk arrested? >> arrested, convicted and probably sentenced to death. >> john, let's me turn to you. knowing what you know now, you obviously feel this was the guy. does it change anything emotionally for you? >> it does. it ends that terrible chapter of our life. i always say it's not about closure. there is no such thing. we'll always be the parents of a murdered child. it's about justice. it's way overused. there is no closure. it still hurts and tears apart

our heart. >> this will book does indict the hollywood police in the way they handled the case. they have a guy who is admitting it and -- >> the police back in those day, mistakes that were made, there was no dna and, yes, we always out some people are -- cya, cover your ass attitude. we'll be criticized. but chad wagner was the chief who hooked me right in the eye and said we owe it to you, you've changed the way police do business in this country, you changed the way we look at missing and exploited children. let's open the case, let's throw out all the previous assumptions, let's look at it with fresh eyes and, yes, i'll work with joe matthews. and he had the guts to man up and went to the state attorney's office and said this case is closed, we would have indicted and convicted ottis toole for adam walsh's murder. and i thought this will give hope to victims all over the country and cops the impa it us to if you made a mistake, man up, take a look at the cases. if you hit a wall, if it's a cold case, don't be of a paid to go back and be afraid of the

criticism. the victims wait and i always say justice delayed is not justice denied. >> fresh eyes. thanks so much all of for you being here. we appreciate it you coming on this morning with us. and up next, the dos and don'ts of selling your home online. but first this i

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this morning on today's real estate, what not do online if you're selling your home. many buyers turn to the internet for a sneak peek of what's on the market and they could easily which i can right by your listing if you make key mistakes. today barbara corcoran is here to set us straight. so there is a lot to do and not to do. let's start with how you describe your home. everyone knows in real estate it's location, location, location. what are good words to use? >> anything that connects the location to a feature like two

blocks apart, a block from the ocean, two blocks from the subway or something like that. >> a lot of people say beautiful kitchen or a generic adjective. >> the magic word is gourmet kitchen. they think it's huge and sunny. >> this is another big buzz word. >> the secretaond most cited re is sunny, sun filled. might go with sun is a buzz word. the number one word in real estate is the word beautiful. when people hear beautiful, they actually associate it with excellent condition, everything's meticulous andky move right in. landscape means perfect ground, big backyard landscaped home. turnkey, so much better than move in. people don't believe nuf ain an.

turnkey means your home is in perfect condition. and another great word is a chef's crikitchen. >> let's talk about pictures. you should not not post pictures. >> let me tell you, pictures are the name of the game. people shop by pictures. they're ten times more important than even the words used. >> and the kind of camera you use matters. >> the kind of camera is everything. you need a high definition camera that will take great shots. if you're not going to have professional photography done, which you certainly should, should you definitely pick a sunny day and rent a wide angle wle lens. >> how many photos should you put up? >> at least 12. the average right now that most people post is eight, but buyers again and again want more. >> just like the words, pictures matter, it too. we have dos and don'ts.

we have an example to showeshow. a snowy one and spring one. which is right and which is wrong? >> that's the spring shot. that is a beautiful, beautiful curb appeal shot. it's been cropped properly. who wouldn't want to live there. there is the same house. hard to believe. about if you're going to sell in the wintertime, you have to take your shots in the summer or spring because every house looks better then. that will never sell that house. >> let's see this living room do and don't. the one word that comes to mind, clutter. >> clutter is right. even the doilies on the tables are additional clutter. it's lived in and that's fine while you're living there, but to good when you go to sell. >> and what about the dining room. >> the dining room -- this is actually the living room. there is the dining room. empty rooms don't sell th.

they make the house look small. >> so you have a decorated room, staged but not cluttered. >> just has main million stuff and setting that table is an old trick, but it still works. >> and let's do the master bedroom. >> that master bedroom of course is a great room, but the curtains should be totally removed and the valance on the bed should be taken so you can look under the bed. that's a perfect bedroom. who wouldn'ttle sn eple s iep i that? >> full of opinions and letting us know. >> it's important. >> good to know. thank you. we'll be right back after these messages. ♪ [ lane ] here's the trouble with most anti-wrinkle creams.

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betsy bets. you haven't changed a bit. oh...neither have you... sean. well, yeah. [ female announcer ] go to yoplait.com to start your two week tune up. good morning. i'm kris sanchez. next on "today in the bay," a rig rig loaded with propane crashes into power lines. how it could affect your drive. plus, putting out fires in the south bay budget battle. and the impasse on other bay area unions. plus, have you seen this man? the fbi wants to find him. they say he's been cleaning out bank accounts across the bay area. and mom on the run. why police say a pta leader stole thousands of dollars and how itunes hab heler nab her accomplice coming up today at 7:00 on "today in the bay."

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good morning to you. a live look at the bay bridge. a little